Mandolin maestro U Srinivas passes away at 45

Renowned Mandolin exponent Uppalapu Srinivas died in Chennai on Friday following a liver-related illness at the age of 45.

A recipient of various awards, including the prestigious Padma Shri, Srinivas, popularly known as ‘Mandolin’ Srinivas, breathed his last at a private hospital on Friday morning.

Expressing grief, Prime Minister Narendra Modi commended his dedication and said the musician will always be remembered. “The PM recalled the Mandolin maestro’s dedication and long-standing contribution towards music and added that he will always be remembered,” Modi’s official Twitter handle, @PMOIndia said.

In a series of tweets on the micro-blogging site, Modi expressed grief over the passing away of the “renowned musician”.

Chief Minister Jayalalithaa credited Srinivas with introducing the musical instrument of Mandolin to the people.

Paying rich tributes to Srinivas, she said he was born in a family of musicians and after introducing the musical instrument to the people, won their hearts with his rendition. “His demise is a big loss to the world of Carnatic music. None can fill the void created by his passing away,” she said in a statement.

Governor K Rosaiah described Srinivas as an “accomplished” Mandolin artiste who brought fame to India. “The clutches of death has snatched away the life of a great artiste at an early age. The death of Mandolin Srinivas has left a void and the Carnatic music world has lost a genius,” he said in a Raj Bhavan statement.

A recipient of various awards and accolades including Padma Shri and Sangeetha Ratna, Srinivas gave his first public performance at the age of nine.

A child prodigy, who grew into a much sought after personality among fans, Srinivas used to play an electric mandolin, and had collaborated with several global artistes including John McLaughlin and Michael Nyman.

The film industry grieved the death of the mandolin player. “Emotionally shaken to hear of Carnatic shining star Mandolin Srinivasji’s demise.. May God bless him with happiness in the next world,” Oscar-winning music director A R Rahman said.

Another Oscar-winning technician, Resul Pookutty, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and many others condoled the death on social platforms.